Almost too late

My mother had a dentist appointment at 14.45 in Stadskanaal.
We left on time, not knowing we would have to wait at the bridge for a huge brand new sea ship that was towed through the Eems canal by two tugs.
Centimeter by centimer it slowly passed us, as I watched the time go by minute by minute...
It was almost 14.30 when our signs were green again, still over 40 kilometers to go.
Because I've gone this route up and down for thousands and thousandss of times ever since I was a kid, I know every bend and bump by head. No surprises for me on this track. Therefore I managed to park at the dentist only 5 minutes late. He never noticed.
Neither did my mum. Only once she wondered if we might be going a bit too fast....